Billy & Jon look like leaders for the win this year

Billy and Jon are an undeniably strong crew. With clear wins from Waterside A and B already, they’d make a good bet to win DW 2024. Any obstacles to their win will probably come from the unexpected, as Billy experienced in his that-was-not-the-excitement-we-wanted DW race last year…

Billy already has three DW completions including a win from 2017 when he and James King finished the course in 17 hours 27 mins. In 2022, Billy raced with Dan Palmer and came second to Andrew Birkett & Mike Lavarack. The race ended at Teddington that year because the Westminster finish was unavailable – St Thomas’ Hospital was still operating as a major Covid vaccination centre.

Last year’s epic adventure (or: why Billy’s goal for 2024 is “don’t go blind”)

In 2023, Billy teamed up with Dougal Glaisher: “I’d heard of Dougal’s Epic Adventure and thought the 5500km of surf ski paddling would be a good base to get up to speed for DW.” They knew that Keith Moule and Tom Sharpe were best placed to win, but if something went wrong for Keith and Tom then Billy and Dougal would be right behind them. During the Waterside Series, Dougal ran into a bit of trouble with his diabetes, but they still finished the race and quickly came up with a plan to manage his blood sugar more effectively. In Waterside D, they managed to stick with Keith and Tom until the last 5km – exactly the kind of result a crew would want to get two weeks before the big one. On DW race day, Billy and Dougal set off with a projected schedule that was just inside the old record.

Almost as soon as they’d got going again, another stroke of bad luck. A couple miles downriver at Thames Young Mariners (TYM), their rudder suddenly let them down. Billy and Dougal watched the minutes fly by as their support crew rushed to make quick repairs so they could get back on the water and get their well-deserved Westminster finish.

Despite their mid-race snafus, Billy and Dougal finished DW in a very respectable fourth place with a time of 16:57:21. Fortunately for us race fans, Billy is undeterred: he’s back again this year with his eye on that 1st place trophy.

Ready for DW 2024

Although Jon O’Grady will be a DW first-timer, he brings a strong paddling CV. Before this season, Jon already has six Waterside finishes in K1 and K2 including four podiums. Outside of marathon kayak, Jon has also competed for Team GB in outrigger canoeing and dragonboat. So like his competitor Anoushka Freeman, he’s bringing some fast-twitch sprint muscles to the race start and finish.

Billy and Jon didn’t exactly “enjoy” Waterside B. But they were satisfied with the results and plan to race hard at Waterside C. For Waterside D, they’ll “find a friend” and take it easy.

Their goal for DW 2024 is “to win” (assuming they’re achieving their first priority: to finish). In a short interview after their Waterside B win, Billy shared his two key learnings from last year:

1. Check the rudderware before the start and try not to break the ruder
2. Wear goggles and don’t go blind

If all goes smoothly, this crew is well-placed for the win. They’re keenly aware of the competition though, particularly the crews of Tom Sharpe / Anoushka Freeman and Tom Simmons / Michael Lambert.

Stay tuned for more updates as these crews prepare to battle it out in the dark over Easter weekend…